No, I've never had the opportunity to bird Gauteng. I hope to be in Secunda over Christmas so a summer day trip to Marievale looks on the cards (with my son, also a birder and though 28 years younger than I, close on my heels in ticks!) Is there anywhere else nearby there that I should go to?

I'm not going to push for 400 just yet - it is a big milestone because 500 is very very far after that.

Secunda is very close to the Devon and Leandra area, which has some of the best birding in the wider Gauteng area in my opinion. At that time of year there are plenty Montagu's and Pallid Harriers, Common Quails, Blue Korhaans, Orange River Francolins, Pale-crowned Cisticolas etc. You can nail some good birds in those farmlands. Also Suikerbosrand isn't too far away and also offers great birding. If I'm around at that time of year I would be happy to take you out for a day to help you boost your list. I gaurantee we'll get you over 400! Or otherwise we can even hit north eastern Gauteng and get around 200 species in a day!

I've already emailed your suggestions to my son. I have a very short break over Christmas as I am on duty over that holiday period. A Blue Korhaan is just what I want (my son has got one already). As for the quails I have seen some in the wheatfields here but that was before I was a birder and I just thought "Oh some quails". Could kick myself now. A Pale-crowned Cisticola also sounds good. We have so many Levaillant's here they actually queue for tourists to take their photos, but i'll never forget the excitement of getting my first one and getting help on this fiorum in getting the ID right.

I am low on raptors and seabirds as well as swifts and swallows. I wonder about going to sea as I have been sea-sick on a ski boat and my greatest wish was for the boat to sink as soon as possible!

I don't often get the opportunity to say this these days and, after having already added one at the end of January this year, I thought I had already used up my opportunity for 2013. But, anyway, here goes...

I will second Matt's offer to help you reach your 400 mark (probably well over your 400 mark). Gauteng is an amazing place to do birding and if one knows the best localities for birding it can be highly productive! Maybe a few other Gauteng birders can join and we can make an outing of it

Avid birder, wildlife enthusiast and photographer with a special interest in Bats and Birds

2014 Birding Big Year- A 365 Day quest for 800 Species of Southern African Birds

I've never actually started any year off consciously aiming to do a Big Year, but twice, a little way into the year, I've realised that I already had a reasonable list, so should give it a decent go...

In 1997, aged 24, I did it the first time and managed to get 802 species. Again, in 1999, I did it a second time and scored 810 species. It's not quite up to Niall's score of 826 in 2011, but one must also remember back when I did these big years, a lot of species hadn't been split yet, so I had a lower overall target list to work with...

The list crawl continues... I'm on 598.... I need to find a memorable bird for 600.

If I am ever to get to 700, I'm going to have to travel to the southern ocean, kunene river, eastern highlands and mocambique if I want some more easy lifers, as my RSA list of unseen birds is shinking!

I would love to join your group but unfortunately I now live on the wrong side of the Indian Ocean!! I can recall my various weekends down to the Lowveld (in my previous life before marrying an Aussie) when I could see over 200 species in a weekend, and with our September trip to Kruger imminent, I'm hoping to get a list of 200+. My question is this though - how do you get a "confirmed" hit? If my performance on the bird challenges is anything to go by, I'll be wrong around 25-30% of the time! I know a lot of birds are quite obvious, but there are so many LBJ's and raptors that don't sit still long enough! So do you ask each other for verification, or how does this work? I'd love to get that 200 number but suspect a lot of my ID's may be off the mark!

I only record it at a 'lifer' if I get enough view to ID it beyond reasonable doubt in my own mind. Even if I am with an expert birder which is often the case, I stick to the above criteria, though I will use their input to get me close.

I will also take a call to record a lifer as with eg Green-backed Cameroptera. (Again, only if I am certain)

This is what I employ and I'm sure there will be many birders that disagree, but I think the main issue is trust: If you really believe you have ID'd the bird correctly, then so must we...

Huntsman, I agree. We only kid ourselves if we misrepresent things. I'm sure that when I used to run a tally when I was birding in SA years ago, I counted some that I no doubt got wrong, but this would have been through lack of knowledge, over-enthusiasm or both. And I never shared my count with anybody, it was just for me. I would pencil into the margins of my old Roberts where I had seen various species as a reminder. My favourite spot was Vaalkop dam from sunrise.......beautiful prolific place.